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    Google Calendar Updates

    Google Calendar

    As a big fan of all things Google, including Google Calendar, I am pretty happy with some new features GCal has recently rolled out.

    Im not sure how new this is, but I discovered it today- you can actually have the weather, in the form of a little icon on each day, displayed on your Google Calendar. I find this pretty awesome as it’s one less stop I have to make on this information highway.

    But the real reason I am writing this post is due to the fact that recently, Google released a mobile version of their calendar. simply go to calendar.google.com with your mobile web enabled phone and log in, it will display the next few upcoming events you have for whichever calendar you choose to view. With this and mobile GMail, I may not need to use any built in functions of my Treo. But I think this is a good move by Google. They see the obvious shift in the use of cell phones, and the increasing amount of people using smart phones and accessing the internet on them. If Google keeps this up with all of their products, they will no doubt own the mobile web realm.

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    The Business: Document Tools

    Google Docs

    Hands down the best tool for documents is Google Docs & Spreadsheets. With Microsoft Office support and the ability to access the documents anywhere as long as you have an internet connection, why use anything else?

    With Google Docs, I am able to upload Word and Excel documents, edit them, and export them into Word and Excel documents. They stay in your documents until you delete them, and there are multitudes of ways to organize them. Much like GMail, Google Docs has labels and the ability to star documents. You also only view your “Active Documents” (edited within last 30 days) until you choose other wise.

    One other really nice thing about Google Docs is the ability to share any document with anyone with an email address. Excellent for collaboration. With Google Docs, I can get a lot done, and have access to all of my important documents from anywhere at anytime. And best part is, it’s free!

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    Sync Lightning with GCal

    provider for GCal

    A few days ago I wrote about how to get calendar functionality in Thunderbird with Lightning. Today I want to talk about making Lightning 100 times better by giving it the ability to sync with Google Calendar. Since Google is my primary source for Email, Calendar, online document storage, notes and whatever else they offer, I always look for ways to seamlessly sync these things with my desktop or PDA. Since I’ve started using GooSync to synchronize my Treo with GCal, I’ve been more productive, being able to check my calendar anywhere online. Now with Provider, I can synchronize my desktop calendar with Google Calendar, “completing the circle,” so to speak.

    Sure I could use Outlook or Palm Desktop, but why if I don’t have to. I have Google. Now I can have bidirectional synchronization between my desktop and GCal or my Treo and GCal. Plus, installation is easy and updates are automatic (and instant as long as you have an internet connection). Simply download Provider, open up Thunderbird, go to Tools>Add-ons and choose install. From there all you have to do is add Google Calendar to your list of calendars in Lightning. Click on the calendar tab (bottom right) and click New. Then Choose “On the Network.” From there choose Google Calendar and copy your Google Calendar feed in to the box. There is a nice step-by-step with screen shots here.

    I find this solution especially nice because it’s quick and easy. Now If I can’t get WiFi in a classroom, I don’t have to sweat not accessing my calendar and pulling out my PDA to add an important date. Since I take notes on my laptop, I just have Thunderbird open and add appointments and due dates that way.

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    Get Calendar Functionality on Thunderbird

    Lightning

    Gmail is my numero-uno choice for email. However, in my constant quest to backup all data I have anywhere, I felt Thunderbird would be a good desktop email client. After using Thunderbird a couple of days, I wanted to make it more “Outlook-esq.” I wanted calendar functionality. Knowing Mozilla made Sunbird, I figured there was something out there to integrate into Thunderbird. That something was Lightning. It’s a nice little plug-in that gives great functionality, supports multiple calendars and even iCal, for those of you who use it. It gives you the basic Day, Week and Month view, and lays it out pretty nicely. If you are a big Thunderbird user, I strongly recommend it.

    In the next couple of days, I will also do a write up on a really easy way to sync Lightning with Google Calendar, making the program even better.

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    Using AIM 6.0 to send Pics

    AIM

    A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about AIM 6.0 and how I made the switch to that from GAIM. One of the nice new (or really, improved) features of 6.0 is the Pictures feature. Up until last night I used Hello by Google to send pictures to people. It was a superior product with the ability to select a picture and chat about it, send multiple pictures at ones and view them as a slide show, among other things. Last night I tried the pictures function on AIM 6.0 and it also offers all of that, with the very nice ability to drag and drop photos right into the session.

    With this change I will not be using Hello any more, and there is one real reason for it. As seems to be the problem with many Google products, even though it might be superior, Hello is lacking a user base. All of my friends use AIM. This means Google Talk is not used as often (though since its integration into GMail, I’ve been using it more); nor is Hello. I don’t have to ask my friends to go download Hello and make a screen name for it now just so I can send them pictures. I can simply open a session in AIM. More very nice work from the people at AOL to make AIM more than just an instant messaging client!

  • AIM 6.0

    AIM

    Some time ago, I wrote about how AIM Triton was evil. Over a year ago actually. I stated using GAIM and was very happy with it. However, about a month ago, my friend Dan recommended I try out AIM 6.0 with Ad-Hack, which removes any unwanted software and ads during installation. I’ve got to say, I am pretty impressed.

    First of all, 6.0 is much cleaner/more modern looking than GAIM. It’s slick and they did a nice job of organizing a lot of information. 6.0 also included some things that I liked about GAIM- namely tabbed IMs and Aliasing. The best part was AIM actually pulled my GAIM aliases, which was a pleasant surprise.

    Another thing I really like about AIM is the facebook plugin. It will automatically tell me when I have a new message, wall post etc. And there is a multitude of features I haven’t tried yet, like VoIP, Video Chat, and AOL video and radio. All in all I feel AOL did a really nice job taking AIM to the next level, utilizing new technologies and embracing plug in development. They’ve also taken into account things that users have been wanting for some time now, such as tabs. I highly recommend it.

    AIM 6.0 with Ad-Hack

  • EMusic

    EMusic

    Over the last week or so, I have been using a website called Emusic to download music. It is a subscription based website where you pay monthly and get a monthly quota on song downloads. The subscriptions break down like this:

    • $10.00/month- 30 songs
    • $15.00/month- 50 songs
    • $20.00/month- 75 songs

    I’d say that’s a pretty good deal. 75 songs works out to about 5 or 6 cds(12-15 songs per CD). That works out to $75-$90 (at $15/cd). So you save quite a bit. Plus, now EMusic is running a promotion where you get 25 free songs before your subscription starts. I got 100 songs for $20. That’s pretty tough to beat. But I have not mentioned the best part of Emusic. There is NO DRM. Zip. Zilch. Nada. You download the songs with EMusic’s download manager and do with them what you will. That being said, here is one complaint I have about Emusic.

    Their music collection, while vast, is limited to certain record labels. It’s still a huge collection. I was able to blow through 100 downloads in one night and I want more. That means I’ll be signing on again for at least March. But when I did a search for bands I listen to, I didn’t find a lot, or what I did find was compilation albums. I hope that as EMusic grows, so does the list of labels they have to offer. But I would say it’s at least worth the 25 free downloads. Just don’t forget to cancel your subscription after that!

    Emusic

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    The Business: Project Tracking

    BackPack

    In the second installment of this series for 2007, I would like to talk about another ‘problem’ I have run into since getting a higher volume of clients; keeping track of projects. If you do not stay organized and on top of what you have to do for each client, you will ultimately fail as a business. That’s why you need to set up something that works for you. The system I am about to describe is something I find works very nicely for me.

    Backpack is a well-developed web interface by 37 Signals that allows you to keep pages and within those pages notes, tasks, files, and Writeboards (a collaborative tool, also by 37 Signals). Also included in Backpack are reminders and the calendar(if you pay for it). When I get a new project, I create a new page, put in general info about the site, notes on ideas and brainstorming, all of the tasks, etc. I have also been toying with the idea of buying the Basic account, which would include the calendar, file and image storing and a lot more reminders. And at $5/month, I can’t go wrong. By having a calendar and reminders ‘in house’ so to speak, I would be able to keep track of all deadlines, billing, and other important dates.

    So far, Backpack has been working out great for me- I just bring it up in a web browser where ever I am and get to work. And when I do collaborative work on a project, the writeboards are perfect. If I were to build something to help keep track of projects, it would be Backpack.

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    SwishMax

    SwishMax

    As a developer, you will get the occasional client that specifically requests flash elements on their site. Me being more of a coder than a graphics guy, I need an easy to use [cheap] flash application that can help me out. That application is SwishMax.

    At $100, SwishMax is your best bet for easy to use at that price. It is no replacement for Macromedia Adobe Flash, but it gets the job done for my needs. Simple transitions, linking, sounds, etc. And that is just scratching the surface. Based on some of the tutorials on the site, I have not tapped SwishMax’s power.

    Bottom Line: If you are looking for cheap easy flash software, SwishMax is your best bet. Later.

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    Using GMail for files

    GMail

    As a college student I am often bouncing around from PC to PC as I go through my day on campus. This often means when I want to work on a project in between classes, I end up emailing it to myself and keeping it in my inbox. GMail, of-course, lends itself to this quite nicely. With it’s search, star, and label features, as well as close to 3GB of storage, you can make a nice file server out of GMail.

    Up until just recently, I have been emailing myself these documents with some fake subject and body text just to make the process faster. However, since you can easily search your mail, there is a better way. What I have been doing recently, and plan to do with past assignments, is in the subject put the name of the project, attach the project and in the body of the email use comma separated key words. For example, if I wrote a PHP program for my Web Dev class that uploaded images and emailed myself the PHP file. The subject would be “Image Uploader” and in the body of the email would be “PHP, Web Dev class, school, project” etc. This makes it infinitely easier to go back later and search for something you may have lost. Later!